Wednesday's Writer's Tip - Decisions and Sequels

Last week was a look at Scenes and Disasters. Something hasto follw or the story will end in disaster for the character or characters essential to the story. Following a disaster or an event that doesn't end as the focus character of the scene wishes, this character must make some kind of a decision. Will they continue to pursue their goal or will they change goals? Will they continue on the path they've set forth on to reach their goal or change the path but keep the original goal in view?

This is the decision moment and is designed to lure the reader forward. The sequel begins with a reaction. This can be an I'll never succeed sort of time, rather like a minor dark moment, The object of their affection has walked away. The murderer had struck again. The evil wizard has negated the spell. The attempt to escape being drawn into the worm hole has failed. Any number of disasters for the hero, heroine and perhaps even the villain.

Once the focus character reacts her or she must weigh their options. What am I going to do now? Each examination of choices will be different depending on the nature of the focus character. No matter how long they debate with themselves or others, they must take the next step.

This is a decision and that means moving forward. This could be a flight or fight reaction. This could be a stubborn moment but this will lead to the next scene where they are the focus character or not.

This sequel can be short or long but remember it's the bait you're dangling before a reader hoping to hook them to continue to read more. So after the big dramatic scene, don't forget the sequel. Dangle your bait and lure the reader to read on and hopefully they will want to read more of your stories.

Many thanks to Dwight V Swain and Techniques Of The Selling Writer for helping me understand what I sometimes forgot to develop in my stories.

Wednesday - On Plot - Endings

Today let's look at knowing when to stop. Some people have trouble ending their stories but others find revision to be the end of their story and they revise until eternity. This is dawdling and sometimes it's not because the ending isn't satisfactory or even totally happy. What they are striving for is perfection and perfection doesn't happen. Each story when it's finished and several revisions are done should be the best it can be at that time. Spending months going over word by word and substituting a perfectly good word for a perfectly good word is dawdling.

Another way of avoiding the finish line is to be dangling bait for a sequel. Someetimes a sequel is called for and this must be planned for during the story, not thrown in at the end to keep the writer from writing The End. I've written sequels but the ending of the book satisfies the characters and the end suggests there may be another book but there has to be an end.

Remember stories are to be shared so don't dawdle, revise to death or keep writing beyond the end because you think there's a sequel to be written. Make the end a satisfying event for the reader and yourself.